Hercules Introduces eCafe EC-1000W Netbook

Hercules, maker of notebook accessories such as Webcams, iPod speakers, and DJ equipment, has decided to enter the netbook fray with the eCafe EC-1000W. While it has many of the same specs as other netbooks, Hercules is shipping it with Windows 7 Starter, 50GB of free online storage, and its own software bundle.

The EC-1000W will cost $399, and is expected to ship the first week of November to as-yet-to-be-named retailers. Hit the jump for a photo gallery, more specs, and our hands-on impressions.

The eCafe has many of the same specs as we’ve seen on other netbooks: a 10.1-inch  (1024×600) display, a 1.6Ghz Intel Atom N270 CPU, and 1GB of RAM. However, the EC-1000W departs in a few significant ways. Most notably, it runs Windows 7 Starter Edition, an OS that some netbook makers have been reluctant to adopt owing to its restrictions and price.

Freed from Microsoft’s XP constraints, Hercules puts a 250GB hard drive in the EC-1000W, but, sweetening the pot further, it also comes with 50GB of free online storage; that’s five times more than what ASUS offers with its Eee Storage. Other specs include a 6-cell, 4400 mAh battery, which Hercules says should get about 6 hours of active use.

Hercules bundles the EC-1000W with a few of its own apps: eCafe Connect, which is basically a connection manager for hooking up to a hotspot; Email Center, which lets users connect to multiple email accounts from one app–unfortunately, it doesn’t sync with the full version of Outlook, but it automatically saves every email address into its address book; and Webcam Station, which, as the name implies, controls the Webcam. However, it includes a “chat and show” feature that lets you run a slideshow through an instant-messaging client.

Ports include VGA, 3 USB, Ethernet, modem, headphone, mic, and a 4-in-1 card reader.

In our hands-on time with the netbook, we liked the island-style keyboard as well as the nearly friction-less touchpad. While we appreciated the discrete mouse buttons, they required a little too much effort to press, and were on the noisy side. Images from the  built-in VGA webcam seemed decent, but a little dark.

Stay tuned for our full review.